Wire cloth selvage forming mechanism



July 26, 1960 c. E. WEBBER ETAL 2,946,354

WIRE. CLOTH SELVAGE FORMING MECHANISM Filed May 26, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS. CLARENCE [UGA'AE Mme 4/4'665 C SMITH A TORJVEX' July 26, 1960 c. E. WEBBER ErAL WIRE CLOTH SELVAGE FORMING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 26, 1958 46 I ll F5 INVENTORS. CZAPEMCE [ms/r: Meme Jfsss C. 544/7 ATT RIVE'Y United States Patent 2,946,354 WIRE CLOTH SELVAGE FORMING MECHANISM Clarence Eugene Webber and Jesse C. Smith, York, Pa., assiguors to New York Wire Cloth Company, York, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 26, 1958, Ser. No. 737,568 8 Claims. (Cl. 139-430) This invention relates to a wire cloth selvage forming mechanism and, more particularly, to mechanism included within a loom for weaving wire cloth wherein the loom is of the type which feeds weft Wires from a substantial supply thereof such as a drum upon which thousands of feet of weft wire may be wound and, after a suitable length of said wire is inserted into the shed of the Weave, said wire is cut from the wire in the feeding mechanism in such manner that the opposite ends thereof project beyond the edges of the weave of the cloth. These projecting ends of the weft wire which is last inserted, after said wire is beat-up by the reed bar into the shed and the shed is reversed to lock the wire in the weave, are bent and tucked into the shed of the weave so as to form a highly desirable selvage at opposite edges of the weave which closely resembles the selvage produced by conventional wire weaving looms using a shuttle and, in weaving the cloth, the weft wires are connected at the opposite edges of the weave.

By using-a loom in which Weft wires are fed from a substantial supply and successively are cut from the supply after being inserted in the shed of the weave are far more desirable than shuttle-type looms in that, not only is the loom more simple, but the cost of operating the same is substantially less and hence the cost of producing the woven wire cloth is less than when produced upon a shuttle-type loom.

One type of loom for weaving wire cloth of a type having cut weft ends which are tucked into the weave of the cloth is described in co-pending application Serial No. 579,915 filed April 23, 1956, now US. Patent No. 2,849,029, in the names of C. E. Webber and L. K. Watson, Jr. The loom described and claimed in said copending application embodies relatively complex tucking mechanism for disposing the cut ends of the weft wires into the weave.

It is the principal purpose of the present invention to provide a loom of this type with more simple tucking mechanism than embodied in said co-pending application, the greater simplicity somewhat being made possible due to the loom being of a somewhat different type than that with which the tucking mechanism of said co-pending application is employed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide tucking mechanism designed in such manner that when the cut weft wires are beat-up into the shed, such movement of the cut weft wire by the reed bar effects a partial bending of-the projecting ends of the wire in a direction to facilitate the complete bending or tucking thereof into the shed of the weave by tucking blades comprising part of the present invention;

A further object of the invention is to provide not only a simple mechanism for tucking the projecting ends of the weft wires into the shed of the Weave but also to provide a compact tucking mechanism which consumes very little space adjacent opposite edges of the weave.

A still further object of the invention is to provide within the tucking mechanisms offset portions on the shafts which support the tucking blades, whereby when said blades are moved to effect substantially complete bending or tucking of the ends of the weft wire into the shed, an arcuate wiping movement is afforded said blades to facilitate such bending of the ends of the weft wire in addition to the movement of the blades about the axis of rotation of the shafts which support said blades.

Details of the foregoing objects and of the invention are set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprising a part thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an exemplary, somewhat diagrammatic, top plan view of a loom for weaving wire cloth which embodies the tucking mechanism to form selvage edges on the woven cloth in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a tucking unit mounted at one side of the loom shown in Fig. 1 and illustrated on a substantially larger scale than used in Fig. 1, a portion of the loom to which the tucking unit is connected being illustrated in phantom by broken lines. 7

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Figs. 4 through 7 are sectional plan views, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, and respectively representing progressive steps in the operation of the tucking units from the commencement of the beat-up movement of the reed bar to the final tucking of the ends of the weft wire into the shed of the weave.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic plan view of the tucking blade of the tucking unit shown in Figs. 2 through 7 illustrated in full lines to represent the fully retracted position of the tucking blade as shown in Figs. 4 through 6 and, by a series of two additional broken line illustrations showing progressive movement of said tucking blade from the fully retracted to the fully extended position thereof within the shed of the weave to illustrate the wiping movement effected by the tucking blade in addition to the rotary movement thereof about the axis of the shaft supporting the blade.

Referring to Fig. 1, an exemplary loom 10 is shown therein, in phantom, for purposes of simplifying the illustration. Said loom comprises side frame members 12 and housings 14 and 16 which, for purposes of the present invention, are considered part of the stationary frame of the loom. Said housings contain mechanism not comprising part of the present invention and, if desired, the housing 16 may be adjustable relative to the frame of the loom so as to render the loom capable of weaving wire cloth fabric of different widths. Nevertheless, the housing 16 also is considered a part of the stationary frame of the loom as far as the present invention is concerned.

The loom also includes a pair of harness frames 18 of customary construction, said harness frames being sup ported for relative vertical movement in opposite directions to each other in accordance with the conventional operation of looms. No specific supporting mechanism for the harness frames is shown inasmuch as such mechanism is of conventional type. Further, it will be understood that the harness frames are the means which form the shed of the weave of the wire cloth to be woven by the loom. The loom also includes a reed bar 20 which is reciprocated longitudinally. of the warp wires 22 in customary manner by conventional mechanism not illustrated. Further, the loom also comprises a conventional take-up roll 24, the opposite ends of which are supported by the side frame members 12 of the loom, and said takeup roll is operated by conventional mechanism in accordance with customary practice.

In the top plan view of the loo-n1 shown in Fig. 1, a weft wire 26 is shown inserted within the shed of the Patented July as, 1960 weave and has not yet been beaten-up into said shed by the reed bar 20. This weft wire may be inserted by any suitable mechanism but, in the exemplary loom illustrated herein, said wire is inserted by a shuttle which is shot longitudinally of a shuttle guide 28 which is carried by thereed bar support 30 as shown in Fig. 2. The mecha- IllSlIi for shooting the shuttle through the guide 28 is not illustrated since it does not comprise part of the present invention. Briefly described however, said shuttle" is arranged to engage the outer end of a continuous weft wire supply wound upon a large spool for example and positioned adjacent one side of the loom and from which spool the weft wire readily is paid off The shuttle automatically engages the outer end of this weft wire supply and'propelling mechanism hits the shuttle and shoots it, with the weft wire connected thereto, 'throughlhe shed of the loom to the opposite side thereof where the shuttle automatically disengages the forward end of the weft wire and is returned to the opposite side of the loom by mechanism not illustrated. By such arrangement, the weft wires, as inserted in the shed ofthe weave, are cut from the supply of weft wire adjacent the left-hand side of the loom as viewed in Fig. 1 by automatically operated mechanism which is not illustrated since it too does not comprise part of the present invention. Nevertheless, by this arrangement, cut weft wires successively are inserted within the shed of the weave and the length thereof is such that a short portion of the opposite ends of the weft wire initially projects beyond opposite edges of the weave of the cloth when said wire first is inserted into the shed.

The present invention primarily is concerned with mechanism for tucking said projecting ends of the cut weft wires into the weave of the cloth so as to comprise part of the selvages thereof at opposite edges of the cloth and, for all practical purposes, such selvage edges resemble corresponding selvage edges of wirecloth woven conventionally by looms employing shuttles which carry a supply of the weft wire.. However, insuch conventional shuttles, when the supply of .weft wire is exhausted in the shuttle, it is necessary. to stop the loom, place a new filled bobbin of, weft wire within the shuttle, perform such threading operations, as may be required, and then start the loom operating again. This is time consuming and somewhat tedious. Looms of the type to which ,the present invention pertains do not require such replenishing of the bobbins inasmuch as the bobbins referred to above in the loom illustrated in Fig. 1 do not carry a supply of bobbin wire but, rather, merely engage the leading end of a very substantial supply of bobbin wire and shoot said leading end through; the shed of the weave. Thfe'weft wire thusinserted in theshed is ,cut from said supply automatically andthe reed bar 20 beats-up said inserted weft wire intothe shed, following which theshed shifting mechanism, oomp'rising'the harness frames 18, operates to shift the shed and locks said weft wire into the weave.

The tucking mechanism comprising the present invention operates upon the projecting opposite ends of the weft wires as they successively are inserted into the shed and are locked into the weave; Such tucking mechanism inaccordance with the present inventiomcomprises units 32 and 34 and the unit 32'is disposed at the left-hand side of-the loom as shown in Fig. 1, while the unit 34 is dis posed at the right-hand side of the loom. The left-hand unit 32 is illustrated in enlarged detail in Figs. 2 and 3 and it will be understood that the right-hand unit 34 is similar except that it comprises a mirror image of the left-hand unit 32. These units are respectively supported by'the' housings 14 and 16 which are stationary relative to the frame of the loom and hence it is considered that the units 32 and 34 are supported stationarily relative'to the'frame of the loom in the following description and the" claims appended thereto. Referring to Figs. 2 and '3 the tucking unit 32 specifically illustrated therein comprises a bearing'member 36 having a bearing-opening 38 therein which issubstantially vertical to the plane of the weave 40 as shown in Fig. 2. The bearing member 36 may be secured to the housing.

or frame member 14 by suitable bolts 42 and the member 36 has an extension 44 depending therefrom to support a guide block 46 at the lower end thereof. The forward end of guide block 46 has a guide notch 48 therein which is positioned within the plane of the weave 40 so as to receive the projecting end 5001? the last inserted weft wire 26 as is best shown in Figs. 4- and 5.

The bearing member 36 rotatably supports a shaft 52 which is received within the bearing opening 38 as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The upper end of shaft 52 has acrank block 54 and a crank pin56 fixed thereto. The lower end of shaft 52 has a laterally offset portion 58 integral therewith. A tucking blade 60 is fixedly connected at one end to the lower end of the oflset portion 58 of shaft 52, the offset portion 58 being for purposes to be described, and blade 60 projects radially therefrom to comprise a cantilever-type blade.

In the so-called retracted position of the blade 60, the same is disposed as shown in Figs. 4through 6, wherein the side 62 of the, blade preferablyis straight and substantially parallel to the adjacent edge ofithe weave. Said side 62 is quite close to the adjacentedge of the weave to lend compactness to the 'tucking'mechanislm whereby it consumes very little space between the portions 14 and 16 and'the respective edges of the'we'ave 40 of the cloth. Said side 62 of the tucking bladefll also has a longitudinal groove 64 therein which i s disposed within the plane of the weave 40 as best shown in Fig.

To further contribute to the compactness 'of the tucking units and'also to facilitate the tucking operation, the guide blocks 46"have recesses "66 thereinforreceiving the rerward' ends of the blades '60 when the "blades 'are in the retracted position as illustrated"in"Figs.' 4thro'1'igh'6. Hence, inasmuch as'the grooves 64' in the blades "are in longitudinalalignment" with the guidemotch'e's 48 ofth guide blocks 46, when the reed bar 20 engages the last inserted weft wire 26 as shown in Fig. 4, and moves the same forwardly toward the" weave 40, the projecting ends 50 of the weft wire'26 first are moved intothe' guide notches 48 and continued movement thereof, as shown in Fig. 5, causes the projecting ends 50 to engage the grooves 66o'f tucking blades 60, whereby'wherithe r'd bar '20 reaches its forwardmost position as shown in Fig. 6, the projecting ends 50 of weft wire 26 are disposed the grooves '64and, moreimportantly; are partially-bent into their tucked position since they are disposed somewhat parallelto and adjacent the outermost warp wire 22 as shown in Fig; 6. l I

Before the tuckingblades ofl' are rotated from the retracted positionther'eof shown in Figs. 4'through' 6, the reed bar '20 must first retreat 'sufiiciently'towa'rditsposition in Fig. 4 to permit the blades 60 to clear thereed bar 20. Such retreating movement of the reed bar isa'ccomplished "by conventional mechanism actuating the same and, after said bar has retreated slightly past the position shown in Fig. 5, the mechanism for rotat ng the shafts 52 is operated. Such actuating "mechanism comprises a'leve'r 68 which is pivotally' connected at its upper end by a headed pin 70 to the frame member 14. The lever has a cam slot 72 therein which receives a cam follower 74- which is reciprocable in opposite directions substantially along a line parallelto the axis of shaft 52. Such cam followers 74, at opposite sides of the machine, are reciprocated by mechanism, not shown, within the housings .or frame members 14 and 16, such operation being performed automatically in accordance with the normaloperationof the loom 10. V p 1::

The lower end of lever 68 is enlarged and contains ,a slot 76 which is perpendicular to theplanc of thesle er '68 and receives the crank pin 56: Suchslot permits slidinglmovement of the crank pin therein in a direction transverse to the planeof lever 68;; Hence, oscillatory movement of the -:1ower end .of lever--68 effects actuation ofthe crank pin inoppositedirections'sol'as-torotate the shaft 52 and the tucking blade 60 on the lower end thereof.

The above described rotation of the tucking blades 60 take place simultaneously at opposite sides of the 100m and respectively adjacent the opposite edges of the weave 40 after the reed bar 20 has retreated sufficiently as described above. The rotation of shafts 52 by the crank pins 56 not only rotates the tucking blades 60 into projected, tucking position shown in Fig. 7, for purposes of substantially completing the bending of the projecting ends 50 of weft wire 26 into the shed of the weave as shown in said figure but due to the blades 60 being mounted on offset portions 58 upon the shafts 52, an arcuate wiping action is afforded the blades 60 to facilitate the bending of such ends 50 into the shed of the weave. This wiping action is more graphically illustrated in Fig. 8 wherein a series of progressive positions of the tucking blade 60 at the left-hand side of the loom are illustrated. In this figure, it will be seen that the offset portions 58 of the shaft move through an are about the axis of shaft 52 which results in a certain amount of longitudinal sliding action of the groove '64 in the blade 60 relative to the end 50 of the weft wire. Such movements of the blade 60 takes place while the reed bar 26 is completing its retreating movement.

After the reed bar 20 has retreated to its full extent, another weft wire is inserted into the shed and is cut from the supply thereof, and at this time, or even while the reed bar 20 next advances toward the shed for purposes of beating-up the next weft wire into the shed, the cam follower 74 moves in its reverse direction to oscillate the lever 68 in a direction reverse to that described above so as to retract the outer end of the blade 60 from the shed of the weave and restore the same to the retracted position shown in Figs. 4 through 6. All of this takes place before the next inserted weft wire is beat-up sufficiently by the reed bar so that the projecting ends 50 thereof may engage the guide notches 48 and be moved along the grooves 64 in the blades 60. It will be understood that such disposition of the projecting ends 50 of the weft wire 26 takes place simultaneously relative to the tucking units at opposite sides of the loom.

When the next inserted weft wire 26 is fully beat-up into the weave, said wire will engage the substantially completely tucked ends 50 of the last inserted weft wire and thereby finally position the tucked weft ends into the weave of the cloth. The inherent resilience of the weft wire material, after the completing of the tucking and the bending thereof by blades 60 to dispose the tucked ends 50 within the weave as shown in Fig. 7, will cause the tucked ends 50 to flex reversely backward a slight distance when the tucked end 50 are disengaged by the blades 60. However, when the next inserted weft wire is fully beaten-up, the tucked ends of the previously inserted wire will be disposed substantially parallel to the weft wires of the weave as clearly shown in the illustrations of the weave in Figs. 4 through 7.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides tucking units within a loom for weaving wire cloth which are simple in construction and operate automatically to tuck the projecting ends of a cut weft wire into the shed and weave of the cloth, whereby the cloth closely resembles in appearance conventional wire cloth having a substantially continuous weft wire arrangement. Structurally, the woven wire cloth having cut tucked ends woven into the selvage edges of the cloth is fully equal to any conventional wire cloth having a continuous weft wire arrangement. The Weaving of cloth with tucked cut weft ends however is substantially less expensive than conventionally woven, continuous weft wire cloth and the tucking units comprising the present invention tuck the cut weft ends into the weave in a highly satisfactory manner. In addition, the tucking units are compact, rugged and durable, and of simple construction. Also, the detailed mechanism of the tucking units which actually performs the bending of the initially prtijecting ends of the cut weft wire employs the normal movement of the reed bar to partially effect the bending of such projectingends of the weft wire and also to position said projecting ends conveniently upon the tucking blades of the units.

While the invention has been described and illustrated in its preferred embodiment, and has included certain details, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise details herein illustrated and described since the same may becarried out in other ways falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

We claim:

1. Wire cloth selvage forming mechanism comprising a wire cloth weaving loom of the type arranged to position cut weft wires between the warp wires in the shed of said loom, said loom including a stationary frame, a reed bar operable to beat-up each weft wire after insertion thereof in said shed, and means to shift said shed after each weft wire is beat-up within the shed to lock said wire within the weave, the opposite ends of each weft wire initially projecting respectively axially outward beyond the opposite edges of the weave of the cloth when said weft wire is locked into said weave; in combination with shafts supported by said stationary frame adjacent the opposite outer edges of the weave and substantially ver- I tical to the plane of the weave, substantially straight cantilever-type tucking blades respectively supported for rotation at one end about the axes said shafts and extending radially therefrom substantially within the plane of the weave for oscillatory movements of the blades in opposite directions successively into and out of the shed of the weave, one edge of each blade being grooved, and actuating means interengaging said blades and operable to rotate the same simultaneously in one direction while said reed bar is retreating from beat-up position to move said other ends and grooved edges of said blades respectively in directions to bend the projecting ends of said locked weft wire into the shed and to rotate said blades subsequently in the opposite direction simultaneously to remove said'blades from the shed before the next inserted'weft wire is beat-up into the shed.

2. Wire cloth selvage forming mechanism comprising la wire cloth weaving loom of the type arranged to position cut weft wires between the warp wires in the shed of said loom, said loom including a stationary frame, a reed bar operable to beat-up each weft wire after insertion thereof in said shed, and means to shift said shed after each weft wire is beat-up within the shed to lock said wire within the weave, the opposite ends of each weft wire projecting respectively axially outward beyond the opposite edges of the weave of the cloth when said weft wire is locked into said weave; in combination with bearing members fixedly supported by said frame adjacent opposite edges of the weave and having bearing openings substantially vertical to said plane, shafts respectively supported by said bearing members for rotation about the axes of said fixed bearing members adjacent the outer opposite edges of the weave, substantiallystraight cantilevertype tucking blades respectively connected at one end to said shafts and extending radially therefrom substantially within the plane of the weave for oscillatory movements of the blades in opposite directions within the plane of the weave to move the other ends thereof successively into and out of the shed of the weave, one edge of each blade being grooved, and actuating means interengaging said shafts and operable to rotate said shafts simultaneously in one direction while said reed bar is retreating from beat-up position to move said other ends of said blades and grooved edges respectively in directions to bend the projecting ends of said locked weft wire into the shed 3. Wire cloth selvageforming mechanism comprising a wire cloth weaving loom of the type arranged to position cut' weft wires {between the warp-wires in theshed of said loom,-s'aidloom including a stationary frame, a reed bar operable to'beat-upeach weftwire afterinsertion thereof i'n Saidshed, and means to shift saidshed-after each weft wire is beatup within the shed to lock said wire within the weave, the opposite ends of-eachweft wire projecting respectively axially outward beyond the; opposite edges of the weave of 'the cloth when-saidweft wire is locked into Said-weave; in combination with guide blocks supported stationarily relative to said frame 'adjacent opposite outer edges of said weave, said blocks having guide means within the plane of the weave and operable to receive and position the projectingends of the weft wires incident to being beat-up shafts sup ported by said stationary frame adjacent the opposite edges of the weave and substantially vertical to the plane of the weave, substantially straight cantilever-type tucking blades respectivelysupported for rotation at one end about the axes of said shafts and extending radially therefrom within the plane of the weave for oscillatory movements of the blades in opposite directions successively into and out of'the' shed of the weave, one edge of each blade being grooved, and-actuating means interengaging said blades simultaneously to rotate the same in one direction whilesaid reed bar is retreating from beat-up position to move said other ends of-said blades respectively in directions to bend the projecting ends of said locked weft wire as positioned by said guide blocks into the shed and to rotate said blades subsequently in the opposite direction simultaneously to remove said blades from the shed before the next inserted Weft wire is beat-up into the shed against the bent ends of the previously inserted weft wire and thereby finally positioning said bent ends within the selvages of the woven wire cloth.

4. The wire cloth selvage forming mechanism set forth in claim 3 further characterized by said guide blocks each having a recess therein opening outwardly toward the adjacent outer edge of the weave of the cloth and said recesses being arranged respectively to receive at least portions of said blades when removed from said shed, and the path of movement of said reedbar when moving in beat-up direction being positioned to permit the reed bar to move the projecting ends of the weft wire being beatenup thereby into the guide means of saidguide blocks and also into engagement with said tucking blades to partially bend said ends rearwardly.

5. The wire cloth selvage forming mechanism set forth in'claim 2 further including crank means connected respectively to said shafts, and crank actuating means reciprocable during the movement of said reed bar and operable in opposite directions respectively to rotate said shafts in opposite directions to move said blades thereon as aforesaid; j ,I i

6. The wire cloth selvage forming mechanism set forth in claim 2 further characterized by said shafts having laterally offset portions thereon to which said blades are 7 connected, whereby as said shafts are rotated in a direction to project saidblades into the shed of the weave each blade will effect a compound movement including an arcuate wiping movement relative to the projection end Offthfi iastbeat-up weft Wire engaged thereby in addition to the rotary movement of each blade about the axis ofthe shaft to which it is connected. p

7. The wire cloth selvage forming mechanism setforth in claim 4 further characterized by the grooves of said tucking blades extending longitudinally of the faces thereof engageable with the projecting ends of the Weft Wires when the blades are removed from the shed of the weave, said grooves being substantially within the plane of the weave and operable to be engaged by the projecting ends of the Weft wires and cause bending thereof rearwardly when said reed bar is moving in,beat-up direction.

8. The wire cloth selvageforming mechanism set forth in claim 3 further characterized by said guide means of said guide blocks comprising notches opening forwardly toward said shed shiftingmeans, and said tucking blades each having a side fac'e respectively substantially parallel to and adjacent the outer edges of the weave of the cloth and the grooves therein being in longitudinal alignment with the notches of said guide means when the blades are removed from the shed of theweave, whereby the ,reed bar when beating-up a weft wire into said shed willcause the projecting ends of said Weft Wire to engage the notches of said guide blocks and grooves of said blades to partially bend said projecting ends and place the sametwithin the grooves of said bladesQ References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,849,029 Webber et a1. Aug. 26, s

I I FOREIGN PATENTS g 1 8,588 Great Britain Dec. 9, 1893 172,564 Switzerland Jan. 16, 1935 

